Obsese man ruled unfit for fatherhood

Judge orders adoption for two boys who have special needs

An Ottawa man whose obesity played a factor in whether he was fit enough to
be a father has lost
custody of his children after a judge ruled Wednesday that his two boys would be
put up for adoption.

In the judge's ruling, the father was described as a "loving" and
"intelligent" father who held deep hatred
for the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa.

The ruling noted that the man had "angry outbursts" at CAS workers and
threatened to go on a hunger
strike if he lost custody of his sons.

The ruling also noted that the father didn't know his own strength, with
child-welfare workers re-porting
that they felt pain from his handshake alone.

The court ruling, reviewed by the Citizen, noted that the man, who at one
time weighed 525 pounds,
may have trouble keeping up his daily weight-loss program while taking care of
his four-and six-year-old
boys, who both have special needs.

The ruling also noted that the 38-year-old father showed no signs of abuse
toward the boys and that he
was an avid gamer, playing World of Warcraft, the popular video-fantasy game,
for up to 24 hours at a
time. (He contends he played it once a week from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.)

The ruling notes no signs of physical abuse toward the children and says his
home is "suitable," but
predicts that it won't be in future be-cause he may need housemates to pay the
rent.

It also notes that the man used to fight with his ex-wife, with whom he
hasn't lived in three years, and
that he used to smoke a lot of marijuana.

Superior Court Justice M. James said in his ruling:
"(The father) also has achieved stability in his personal life. He has lost a
substantial amount of weight
through daily intensive exercise and dieting. (The father's) weight loss regime
is itself a full-time job. So
is parenting two high-needs children. One will inevitably have to give ground to
the other."

The judge noted child-welfare workers' concerns, saying: "His weight loss
depends on an intensive
daily exercise program. Parenting responsibilities will likely make it much more
difficult for him to
maintain his exercise schedule. He would be a single parent to two high-needs
children in
circumstances where a skilled, two-parent family would be challenged to cope."
The judge has now ruled that the boys be put up for adoption.
Both boys are in foster care, one in a home run by a single mother with five
other children.
The judge noted that the father never abused the children and used to run two
businesses: a marijuana

grow-op and a lucrative computer business.

"I can't believe the judge called me extremely overweight. The judge didn't
take into account how much I
had lost on my own," the father said.

In fact, the father dropped to 340 pounds from 525 pounds and now weighs 380.
He lost the weight on
his own, refusing to undergo the sometimes deadly gastric bypass surgery at
Ottawa Hospital.

The man acknowledges that he's not perfect, but he says he's a good father.
"The only thing they have
against me is my weight. I'm not too fat to be a dad. I can be a good dad. I
almost ate myself to death
but these days I eat really healthy meals," he told the Citizen.

He said Wednesday night that he was ready to starve himself to death protest
the judge's ruling.

The whole country will see exactly how serious I am."
I

n a court-ordered assessment, a doctor cited the father's weight as a problem
to be a parent.

"Finally, (the father) has struggled with obesity for years, which impacts
significantly on most aspects of
his life including (his) functioning as a parent. He was short of breath or
winded in simply walking short
distances about the clinic and he lacks both the mobility and stamina required
to keep up with young
and active children.

"Once again, (the father's) strong personal beliefs on issues, including
weight loss, make it difficult for
him to accept the opinions of specialists on such matters," the doctor wrote in
the assessment report.

The doctor continued: "(The father) needs to address his own medic-al and
psychological affairs. These
would include his cannabis addiction and his level of physical fitness. -

"Regardless of how much weight (the father) may have lost to date, he will
continue to be at risk related
to his obesity for some consider-able time. This will include not only his risk
for major life threatening
events, but also a lack of mobility and proneness to injury as was exemplified
by (the father's) hobbling
around on crutches when last seen individually. (The father's) health issues are
magnified by his
anti-authoritarian traits and refusal to follow recommended treatments. This
also raises questions to his
ability to make proper decisions in regards to his sons' medical, educational or
psychological needs."

The father, who hasn't seen his boys in a year, says, "I was never too fat to
be a dad."

The Child and Family Services Act prohibits the Citizen from identifying the
father or his children.